Power to ‘The Elf’

For days, my 7-year-old daughter has been talking about The Elf on a Shelf that a number of her friends have.  So, I decided to see what this Christmas tradition was all about.  Boy, am I glad I did!

The idea is for Santa to drop off the Elf at your house with the book that goes along with it.  The book explains the Elf's magic and purpose.  Since Santa didn't drop ours off and my little one saw him in the bookstore, we picked one up while we were out yesterday. 

Basically, you name your Elf before he even comes out of the box.  My kids chose Ronaldo (after Cristiano Ronaldo, the soccer player).   The kids aren't allowed to touch the Elf because it can take away his "magic."  Every night, he flies to Santa to tell him if the kids have been naughty or nice.  The next morning, he is in a completely different spot than he was the day before, so the kids wake up and search the house for him.

My 10-year-old isn't so sold on the idea, but my little one is so intrigued by Ronaldo.  She talks to him, she's asking all kinds of questions like whether our pets will get scared if they see him fly away at night.  I, of course, told her he only goes to Santa when everyone in the house in sleeping.  When I asked her to take her shower last night, she marched right up the stairs, got herself showered without procrastination and without question.  I praised her for a great job and she said, "Mommy, I want Ronaldo to tell Santa how well I'm listening." 

More so than the impeccable behavior that comes with the Elf on the Shelf is the excitement I see in my daughter's eyes when she looks at Ronaldo and the thrill surrounding the idea that he is actually seeing Santa and reporting to him on a nightly basis.  It is worth every second to see the spirit of Christmas and the holidays through the eyes of our innocent children.